The choice of the right ecommerce solution for your small business is likely going to come down to BigCommerce vs Shopify. Shopify is our top-recommended ecommerce platform for small businesses. However, BigCommerce may be better suited for larger businesses, particularly those with complex inventories or wanting to save on processing fees. : Shopify balances simplicity…
How to Write a Product Description That Sells in 7 Easy Steps
A product description is the element of an online listing that explains what an item is and why it’s worth buying. A well-written product description can transform your online store by qualifying, persuading, and informing the reader, as well as boosting your listings’ visibility. In order to be effective, it needs to do more than…
How to Set Up a Free Square Online Store in 10 Easy Steps
Square Online offers a free ecommerce website for retailers, restaurants, service businesses, and nonprofits. Any seller, from mobile businesses to multi-store operations, can open a Square Online store, list products for sale, process payments, and deliver orders via traditional shipping methods, curbside pickup, or local delivery. Online store analytics also sync with Square’s backend reporting…
Order Fulfillment Costs: Services & Pricing Explained
Third-party order fulfillment companies charge retailers a monthly set of fees based on the services used to fulfill their orders. As a retailer, the total cost owed to your partner fulfillment company mostly breaks down into four fees: inventory receiving, storage, pick and pack, and outbound shipping. The periodic cost of each of these processes…
Ecwid Review: Is It the Right Ecommerce Solution for Your Business?
Ecwid is an ecommerce solution that lets you add an online store to an existing website. It provides tools that help you sell online, in person, and on social media. Ecwid offers a free plan that allows for selling up to 10 products and paid tiers starting at $15 per month. What We Recommend Ecwid…
How to Select and Design Retail Lighting in 5 Steps
Retail lighting includes all light sources you use to make your space visible and highlight products or areas of your store. You can create a retail lighting plan by layering four different lighting types, incorporating several different fixtures, and choosing light bulbs with brightness and tone in mind. In this article, we will look at…
NFC Payments: Everything You Need to Know About Contactless Payments
NFC payments are contactless payments that use near-field communication (NFC) technology to exchange data between readers and payment devices like Apple Pay and Google Pay e-wallets in smartphones and smartwatches, or tap-to-pay credit and debit cards. NFC devices must be close together (typically less than 2 inches apart) to complete these contactless payments. NFC payments…
What Is Cross Merchandising? Definition and Strategies
Cross merchandising is the practice of displaying items from different product categories together to incentivize customers to make multiple item purchases. Cross merchandising provides value to customers by reminding them of a need, sparking an idea, or saving them time from having to search the rest of the store. Cross merchandising adds value to you,…
How to Use Square to Process Credit Cards & Run Your Business
Square credit card processing offers an affordable, easy, and immediate way of accepting card payments. Square comes with a suite of free business management tools like customer directories, inventory tracking, customer feedback collection, and an online store. Learning how to use Square means you can get the most out of Square’s free tools. Square’s credit…
Best Bakery POS Systems for 2021
Bakery point-of-sale (POS) systems require foodservice features like recipe management and ingredient-level supply tracking. They should also have all the functions of a traditional retail POS system, including the ability to process payments, view sales reports, and implement customer relationship management (CRM) strategies. Software like this can cost anywhere from $0 and $300 per month,…
5 Best Food Truck POS Systems for 2021
Food trucks need a point-of-sale (POS) system that’s affordable, easy to use, and excels at the features most important to food truck owners: order tracking, offline payments, and online and contactless ordering, along with streamlined foodservice features like kitchen display systems and loyalty programs. Our list includes food truck POS systems with prices that range…
7 Best Free Merchant Accounts for Small Businesses
Merchant services allow businesses to accept credit and debit card payments at a point-of-sale (POS) system, online, or through invoices. Technically, there is no way to accept card payments for free. However, there are merchant service and payment service providers with no setup fees, contracts, or monthly fees and more affordable alternative payment options. The…